I-League 2017 - Mohun Bagan 2-0 Shillong Lajong - 5 Talking Points
Mohun Bagan walked away with the bragging rights as they trounced Shillong Lajong FC, riding on Scottish striker, Darryl Duffy’s brace.
Bagan meant business right from the outset. Both the preceptors made a couple of changes to their respective teams that featured in the previous round encounters. Sanjoy Sen of Mohun Bagan brought in Shouvik Ghosh in place of Subasish, who was red carded in the last match. His second change to the side was Ryanair Fernandes who came in place of Kean Lewis as the U-22 player of the team.
Thingboi Singto brought in Zodingliana Ralte and Asier Pierre Dipanda in place of Hardy Cliff and Redeem Tlang. Both the teams duked it out and Mohun Bagan eventually came out as the better of the two after Duffy netted a brace.
We now look at five points that were imperative in crafting the match:
#1 Darryl Duffy made the difference
Former Hull City striker, Darryl Duffy came out on the field despite suffering a bout of fever. There was no looking back for him from there.
He started the match as an untoward central attacking midfielder instead of his usual striker position. It was pretty evident that he was persevering right from the kick-off. Barring his spirited attempts upfront, his runs down the midfield and his constant chasing of the ball caused some chaos in the Lajong defence.
7 minutes into the game, Duffy begot a delectable through-ball for Balwant, however, the latter failed to latch onto it. In the 22nd minute, Duffy stamped his class as he went on to score a gem of a goal, calmly placing the ball out of reach of Vishal Kaith’s extended arm.
Veteran defender, Kingshuk Debnath sent in a delightful long ball which was deftly received by Duffy in the penalty box of Lajong and with a tantamount adept touch he went past Romanian defender, Dan Ignat and curled the ball into the net, drawing first blood for Bagan.
In the 65th minute, the Scot, was oozing confidence when he sped past a couple of Lajong defenders to send in a feeble cross which was waylaid and steered to safety before it reached Katsumi.
Duffy was rewarded handsomely for his salvo when he notched up the second goal for himself and his team. He tapped the ball in with composure after Balwant Singh squared him a lovely ball which he received from the Indian international, Pronay Halder. Halder sent in a dipping cross which was received well by Balwant who in turn set Duffy up for a second goal which the Scotsman polished off in style.
He was also declared the man of the match for his performance on the night.